Florida and Family

I have just finished a holiday Christmas break at my good friend Ely's in Florida. It's a long way from Pitjantjatjara country in Central/South Australia to Hobe Sound in Florida - but that's the distance Ely has travelled - then as a linguist and now as a copy editor and erstwhile resident where she lives close-by to her wonderful parents Annie and Rollin. There is a theme of language and communication running through your life isn't there Ely?

Out the back of Ely's apartment is a big bold sign next to a small lake that alerts me to alligators. Ely tells me they're not like crocodiles at all. You can step on them accidentally and they won't try and eat you or your dog. Well that's a relief. The only thing I stepped on was the grass a fair distance from this sign. Mum remember when we camped close too close to that lake in Kakadu where salties lived!

So everyone at home  here's where Ely lives. Here's a shot of the front and the back of her apartment.

There's nothing like having a dog as an incentive to go walking and it was Mr Dale who took us on all sort of adventures in spite of his degenerative myelopathy which has forced him perambulate around in a kind of corgi chariot. Here's Ely and Mr Dale getting ready for a walk - and then on a board walk along a waterway. Well I am walking too and taking pictures at the same time. I've become snap-happy with this camera.

And here's me giving Dale a good cuddle - although he much preferred NOT having his photo taken.

Hobe Sound and it's surrounds are really interesting for all the natural habitats and creatures - not unlike the inter-coastal waterways of North Carolina but a tad warmer. Here's a bit of what I saw - first in Tropical Savannah.

And then on the waterway - which included a crab with its gloves up and the last moments of a fish.

And here are some beautiful mangroves - home for many a creature.

On a more structural note some of the older houses reminded me of Queenslanders.

And a nearby sign reminded me of...I'm not sure what - pineapples and positivity?

 And the Harley's reminded me that America is the home of the unhelmeted. I have never seen so many Harley's in my entire life - or is that a Honda Gold Wing? Anyway here is one fellow enjoying the wind on his pate.

I am straying a little from the central theme which was Christmas day with Ely, Rollin, Annie, Andy, Ely's lovely nephew - and Connie and Dale. Christmas Day finally came along with beautifully lit houses. Here's were the lights next door to Ely's.

Here's an angel that flew past my meditation table.

And here's the spirit of Christmas attaching itself to chair art!

And of course the hat moved around. Here it is with Andy with a Gallic flourish.

And here is the table that Ely set.

And here we are eating and quaffing! It was turkey for most with cranberry and stuffing - and a lovely lentil and quinoa for moi. Thanks Ely. I also cooked a lot of potatoes and Bok Choy. And we capped it off with the most decadent ice cream pie that Ely's Grandmother used to make.

There  was time for a bit of R and R - rest and relaxation. Here is Annie with her naughty but loyal and very pretty Corgi Connie.

Annie has had Corgi's for 50 years or more - which reminds me of my Grandmother Rita's love of her Corgi's. Queen Elizabeth eat your heart out. Elizabeth do you have a Corgi emblem on your car like Annie does - or a Corgi numberplate?  I bet not.

 And some relaxed shots taken by Ely.

I gave Andy a map of Australia and he feels very inspired now to visit.

And the next day I hopped on a plane and now I'm back in sometimes sunny Poolesville.
Thanks Ely, thank you Annie, Rollin and Andy. And thank you Dale and Connie. Nothing like a savannah sunset to finish off with. Big hugs to you all.

And Ely's beautiful teacher Gurumai - so it was a Christian, Hindu, Buddhist Christmas celebration really.  Thank you for looking after me so well Ely.

Trip Ahoy! From Cary to Marshallburg and all the points in between!

Here is Cary where I alighted from the Carolinian 'not-quite express' and here is Marshallburg where I stayed with my second Mum (Martha) and her sister (Aunty Paula). Aunt Paula has kept the lovely family cottage going strong that their Dad built with friends and family.

Distance: 168 miles (or 270 kilometers) and the approximate travel time: was supposed to be 3 hours but it was a tad more than that because of the confusing 'alternate' route system! Here is Mum in driving mode and here is Clamalot cottage and the beautiful view!

This a place of rich estuarine life - the birds were too fast moving for me to photograph but I captured this stationary bird and very stationary oysters!

In fact this is a place of such beauty and ecological significance that everyone banded together to create the North Carolina Coastal Reserve & Natural Estuarine Research Reserve. A wonderful biologist Rachel Carson undertook research in the area in the 1940s and a reserve has been named after her. Here's a picture of Rachel in the local Beaufort Museum.

Rachel was not the only person of note associated with the sea depicted at the museum - there was Black Beard a few years earlier - a fearsome and successful pirate until he met his rather gruesome end. Here's a Johnny Dep version of Black Beard and here's an earlier disaffected artist's view of Black Beard. And a few of the local pirate flags.

Where there's sea and quiet ports there's always something a little clandestine going on. Here's a non-clandestine picture of 'Port' Marshallburg. 

And here, many moons ago I was led on a wild goose chase by my family when I was 16 years old and was more gullible than I am now which is still rather gullible. I was invited to a Snipe Hunt. I got out my potato sack in the dark waiting for what I imagined were quail like birds to go into my potato sack after being driven in in by Uncle T and Co. who had gone ahead and made lots of clapping sounds to drive the snipe into my potato sack - after which I would then release them back. But instead  Uncle T and Co. Tucker included, walked straight past me - with no Snipes in sight - and drove off! Oh well. There was lots of laughter that evening. Here's a picture of snipe terrain and what I imagined a snipe might look like. 

There's so much of Martha and Paula's family history in these parts. Everyone is related in some way shape or form. This is the country where Martha and Paula's Mum came from - the lovely Evelyn Estelle Sellars - or Gran Nanny as I knew her. Here's a street sign with another relative's name on it - and Gran Nanny's house that she grew up in. Evelyn would eventually marry Henry Brown Fountain - a wonderful man - or P-Pop as I knew him.

History lies close in the land in America - with all the local cemeteries around. Many headstones are too worn to decipher and the overhanging live oak often gives the cemetery's a definite southern ambience. And there's always the particular poignancy of lives ended too soon - but I am not sure what to make of the British Soldier buried upright in the Beaufort Cemetery! There is, like Australia, signs of clashes between settlers and Indigenous peoples - in this case the Tuscarora - of which few signs remain - and less of people.

Apart from cemetery hopping there is another past-time here - decoy carving. It's a craft that is celebrated and held in high regard. (Lots of duck hunting evident around here). 'Wooden sculptures capturing the spirit of the bird' best describes it for me -  and Aunt Paula has some wonderful examples of this art.

 Here's some plastic ducks at Clamalot.

And wooden carved ducks - on Harkers Island - I think.

But moving away from ducks for a moment - the whole reason I was at Clamalot was to hang out with my host family for Thanksgiving. Here is Aunt Paula with fresh-baked stuffing. I was eating so much I completely forgot to take pictures of anything else - although a lovely local goat and Beau the beautiful cat caught my eye along the way.

So much to sea! Which included the beautiful Atlantic on a pristine day and migratory feathered friends. I even got to see some porpoise.

Closer to home were the small welcoming churches.

And there was more, but ... sadly I must end here! Thank you everyone - to Mum, Aunt Paula, Tucker, Bobby, Sandy, Tana and Ethan - not to mention Beau and Rocky and all the kind people I met along the way.

On the Wings of a Duck - or was that a Snipe? - I take my leave!